This invention basically relates to a hitch frame permitting field use of a plurality of conventional seed drills. Seed drills come in various widths, depending on the number of openers in a particular drill unit. However, there is a practical limit to the normal drill width, dictated by the need for flexibility to accommodate varying ground contour in fields that are not absolutely flat. As tractors have become increasingly larger and have correspondingly increased available pulling power, farmers have a greater desire for gang hitches capable of pulling two to five drills across a field simultaneously. This results in substantial time savings and increased labor efficiency. However, such wide hitches must also be designed to permit lengthwise transport of the hitch assembly along roads.
Many farmers also desire greater drill flexibility, particularly in view of the newer practices relating to "zero till" or "no till" planting. These farming practices require greater penetration by the drill, and many conventional drills simply do not have sufficient weight to penetrate soil which has not previously been prepared by tilling.
The present hitch has been designed to accommodate conventional drills while requiring no modification of the drill assembly itself. It has been designed to permit field use of one, two, three or five drills in side by side position, with no gap between the openers of adjacent drills other than the normal opener spacing. It provides sufficient flexibility between adjacent drills to allow them to accommodate to ground contour. It permits the drills to be operated in their normal fashion, supported by their conventional end wheel assemblies. For transport purposes, transverse wheels are provided on surrounding frameworks, capable of lifting the drills to disengage the end wheels from ground contact. Endwise transport is therefore available without modification of the drill units themselves. The units are supported entirely by stub shafts mounted to the end wheel assemblies. The hitch assembly is readily converted from a field mode to a travel mode. It provides substantial additional weight to the drill assembly to better enable them to be used in no till farm practices. It can be readily modified to permit use of a single drill when this is desired in a small section, along borders, etc.